A Who’s Who of Westchester government and business leaders converged on White Plains recently to celebrate the opening of Greca Mediterranean Kitchen + Bar, created by developer Louis R. Cappelli, featured in WAG’s October real estate and construction issue, and wife Kylie, along with restaurateur Constantine “Dino” Kolitsas.
It is the second Greca for Kolitsas. Since 2019, he has operated a Greca Mediterranean Kitchen + Bar in New Milford. He also has owned and managed restaurants in Hartford County and Manhattan, as well as on Long Island.
Located at 189 Main St., diagonally across from the Renaissance Fountain in the heart of White Plains’ downtown, the restaurant features classic and reimagined Greek cuisine in a 6,000-square-foot, three-level building that Louis Cappelli updated when he built The Ritz-Carlton New York, Westchester and The Ritz-Carlton Residences. Its design of diamond-shaped glass set into wide frames gives the exterior a modernistic touch.
Greca succeeds Mediterraneo of White Plains, which opened in 2016 and closed earlier this year.
During an exclusive interview at the Greca opening, Kylie Cappelli said she views the new restaurant as a significant addition to business activity and nightlife in downtown White Plains.
“It’s another brick in this foundation that has already been laid here, mostly by Louis but also by other developers,” she said. “There’s so much activity happening in building, the future projects that are coming all around, and I think this anchors what’s happening.”
For his part, Louis Cappelli said that this is the ideal time to be opening a business in White Plains as more people are getting vaccinated against Covid and businesses have adopted policies and procedures to help prevent its spread even as variants are appearing.
“I think we’re opening at the right time,” Louis said. “I don’t think we could have opened this a year ago. That would not have been the right thing to do. I think we’re at the right place at the right time.”
Cappelli noted that developers are building about 2,000 residential units in downtown White Plains, including The Mitchell, which his construction company is doing for Lennar Multifamily Communities just a few blocks away from Greca.
“We have 400 workers heading to 500 workers and we’re going to have that job finished by the end of April,” Cappelli said. “We understand the construction business. We have a great following after 46 years.”
The Cappelli Organization has two related subsidiaries, LRC Construction LLC and Fuller Development Co. LLC. It also supports the Louis R. Cappelli Foundation, which has been noted for its philanthropic activities. The Cappelli Organization has developed more than 10 million square feet of real estate properties valued at more than $5 billion.
The building where Greca is located is part of the Renaissance Square project, a $750 million development with 900,000 square feet of residential, retail, hotel and office space that includes The Opus Westchester (formerly The Ritz-Carlton New York, Westchester) and the two bookending 43-story towers that house The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton.
Louis Cappelli said that a downtown needs to be more than just apartments and offices if it is to thrive, and he views Greca as making a contribution to White Plains.
“What follows people moving into a city is retail and good restaurants,” he said. “Think about Manhattan. It’s great to walk outside your door and have your choice of going to two, three or four different restaurants.”
Kylie Cappelli said that she finds it rewarding to contribute her talents to business projects.
“It’s always wonderful at the end of the day to have created something,” she said. “That’s what’s great about this … you actually get to see a finished product, a building or an interior.”
For more, visit grecamed.com.
